Information, Tourism and Culture of Goa.

The Se Cathedral (Se Cathedral of Santa Catarina) is a cathedral in Old Goa, India, dedicated to Catherine of Alexandria. It is the cathedral of the Latin Rite Catholic Archdiocese of Goa and Daman, and the seat of the Patriarch of the East Indies. It is one of the oldest and most celebrated religious buildings in Goa and is one of the largest churches in Asia.
The Se Cathedral’s tower houses a large bell known as the “Golden Bell” on account of its rich tone. It is said to be the largest in Goa, and one of the best in the world. The main altar is dedicated to Catherine of Alexandria, and there are several old paintings on either side of it. On the right there is a Chapel of the Cross of Miracles, where a vision of Christ is said to have appeared in 1919.
There are six main panels, on which scenes from the life of Saint Catherine are carved. There is a huge gilded reredos above the main altar.
Se Cathedral also houses a baptismal font made in 1532 which was used by Saint Francis Xavier, the patron saint of Goa, in order to baptize several Goan converts.

History

The Se Cathedral was built to commemorate the victory of the Portuguese under Afonso de Albuquerque over a Muslim army, leading to the capture of the city of Goa in 1510. Since the day of the victory happened to be on the feast of Saint Catherine, the cathedral was dedicated to her.
It was commissioned by Governor George Cabral to be enlarged in 1552 on the remains of an earlier structure. The actual construction began in 1562 under the reign of King Dom Sebastião. The Cathedral was finally completed in 1619 and was consecrated in 1640.
It originally had two towers, but one collapsed in 1776 and was never rebuilt.

Amazing Days, Beautiful Sunsets.
The sunset of Goa is really good and amazingly beautiful in we can give the compliment to Goa’s sunset is Poetic sunset yes its really romantic sunset if you are with your loving one the red and yellow shads of sun cover the sea and a ultimate theme comes into a reality the life is really precious and beautiful we comes to at that moment…
All are the beaches are gathered by full of people to see the most beautiful moment of nature every evening…
“The Birds are flying in the sky and the sun is going under sea with some little shy is amazing moment of nature to keep with for a life time”

The statue of Abbe Jose Custodia Faria, is that of a priest hypnotizing a woman and is located in a small square just near the Secretariat in Panjim. Abbe Faria was born in 1756 in Candolim and his childhood was quite eventful with his parents separated to become priest and nun respectively. He was bestowed priesthood in 1777 at Lisbon after completion of his education at Rome.
He was blamed for hatching a conspiracy to gather support for the Pinto revolts in 1787. He confided with the envoys of Tipu Sultan and French administrators at Paris to work out a strategy in order to end the Portuguese as well as the British reign in India. Failure of the Pinto Revolt compelled him to stay over and participate in the French Revolution in 1795 leading an army of revolutionaries against the atrocities of the National Convention.
It was at this that the he embarked on the stage of his career that would make him famous as the originator of hypnotism through suggestions. It is this achievement that is commemorated in this statue. He died in Paris in 1819 a pauper, but this was not to be the end of his story. Alexender Duman writing his Count of Monte Cristo fifty years later included in his novel a prisoner in the Chateau known as the Mad Monk. He gave this character the name of Abbe through hardly on the true facts of his adventurous life.
The most crucial phase of his career arose when he was widely known as the originator of Hypnotism by way of suggestions. This feature is displayed in the Abbe Faria Statue at Panjim. Even his death at Paris in 1819 made him immortal in history, as he was included as a character in the famous novel, The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Duman who referred to him as the Mad Monk, mostly based on the adventurous life led by Abbe Faria.

Moira, beside being famous for the proverbial wisdom of it’s residents is also famed for having provided the soil for the abode of the legendary Moira Bananas.The famous Moira bananas (Moidechim kellim) are long, tusk shaped and may be eaten best by being boiled, baked or fried or in the form of a sweet preserve known as ”figada”.Sadly, the well-known Moira banana which increased the agricultural fame of Moira along with the famous Moira chillies no longer comes from Moira but from Mencuren and other places as still seen even today at the ever popular Friday Market in Mapusa.

How can you make a trip to a place as sunny, laid back, fun loving and popular as Goa, even better?? Simple…go there during it’s 3 day festival known as the Goa Carnival and you are bound to have three times as much fun! One of the most colorful festivals of Goa, the Goa Carnival is not to be missed if you get a chance. If there are two traits that make Goans stand out from other Indians it’s the combination of being deeply religious and cultural despite being modern and that they believe in living life to the fullest and enjoying every moment of it. The Goa Carnival brings out these tr…

In recent years,the state government has been offering its support for public Shigmo parades,made up of traditional folk and street-dancers and elaborately built floats depicting scenes from regional mythology and religious scenes. Meanwhile, Shigmo festivals also continue in diverse rural parts of Goa, spanning over a fortnight,with different days earmarked for celebrations in diverse areas.This festival is celebrated around March each year, is linked to the lunar-based Hindu calendar,hence its date according to the Gregorian or solar calendar varies.

Variations

Shigmo is generally celebrated by agriculturists, the labour class and rural population while, the Vhadlo Shigmo is celebrated by all the classes coming together Timing of the festivalDhakto Shigmo begins some five days before the full-moon day of the Indian calendar’s month of Phalgun and ends on the full-moon day in the Old Conquests areas of Goa.

Folk songs and dances, temple festival

The first day of celebration is called Haldue and the second is Dhulvad or exchange of Gulala. On the first,the village deity is bathed and dressed in saffron robes thats called Chaur ani Haud. After th offering of food,the feast is held. Puja celebrated in the temples of Jambavali, Phatarpya, Kasarpal, Dhargale are very famous in Goa and the neighboring states and attract a large number of devotees and tourists.

The Safa masjid is a prominent Islamic shrine in Ponda, commonly
regarded the citadel of Hindu pilgrimages in Goa. Built in 1560 by Ibrahim
Adil Shah, the Sultan of Bijapur, the Safa mosque survived the havoc
wreaked by the Portuguese colonizers as part of the Inquisition process.
During the reign of the Bijapur Sultan, the region witnessed a proliferation
of mosques and Ponda alone was home to 27 of them.

Also known as the Shahouri masjid, the Safa masjid presents an elegant
spectacle with typical Islamic arches decorating the walls. The mosque
was located at the center of a sprawling complex of gardens and
fountains remnants of which can be witnessed today. The rectangular
prayer hall of the mosque rests above a high base and is capped with a
pointed terracotta tile roof.

How to Reach

Safa Masjid The Safa Masjid is situated 2 km west of the centre of Ponda town. There
are rickshaws available at the main Ponda bus stand which can take you
to the site of the Safa Masjid.